Johannesburg - The provincial Public Works Department says people waiting for their driving licence cards may experience a delay because of industrial action at the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) in Pretoria.
The processing of applications for new licence cards and renewals is decentralised, but all cards are issued by the DLCA,” said head of communication Jandré Bakker.
"This delay will therefore affect applicants all over South Africa. Drivers who apply for a driving licence card renewal on or before the expiry date pay R140.
“They may continue to drive for a maximum of three months, provided they have their application receipts and their old cards.”
Drivers who apply after their licences have expired pay R140 and must apply for a temporary licence (valid for six months) for an extra R45.
In early August the Driving Licensing Card and Account production team declared that millions of South Africans would have to go without licences until the employees were given permanent positions.
In a show of unity, the workers vowed: “The driving licence cards of South Africa are at a standstill for the third consecutive week. There is no one to run the production machine and no one is getting their licences."
As reported previously, the disgruntled group said they had been working at the company for 20 years before the company was taken over by the department. Employees said three years after they were transferred to the department, they were still contract workers. They called this a violation of their rights.
They quoted the Labour Act, which states that if a transfer of a business takes place, unless stated otherwise, the new employer is automatically substituted in the place of the old employer in respect of all contracts of employment in existence immediately before the date of transfer.
Although they had been transferred from being an entity according to the Labour Act, the group said their new contract stated that they were not transferred in accordance with the legislation, which meant they would forfeit all benefits for the years they had worked.
They further said that while they were given eight-month contracts, interns were given a year contract.